1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a material-saving merchandise package that is suitable in particular for elongate objects, for example lamps, and is provided with a stamped hole for taking up a merchandise holder.
2. Description of Related Art
Objects for daily use, including tools and materials for do-it-yourself work, are frequently offered in merchandise stands in self-service stores. Such merchandise stands have a bar on a rack or vertical wall onto which the packaged merchandise is slipped by means of a stamped hole or opening present in the package so that a prospective buyer can remove it in order to purchase it or look at it more closely. The merchandise is usually integrated firmly in the package, frequently by means of a transparent plastic film welded on a strip of material. Information about the product or its installation is found on the strip of material or welded in with the merchandise.
Due to recently passed or imminent legal regulations on reducing waste, which also provide in particular for the customer's disposal of unwanted packages, the conventional packaging concept proves to be frequently unsuitable. The reasons for this are mainly the use of compound materials and the use of plastics and/or great amounts of material. Compound materials cannot be properly sorted according to the type of material. Plastics are very difficult to reuse and can only be reused for the same purpose in very rare cases. The amount of packaging is a cost factor not only for production but also for further handling for purposes of reuse or disposal.
To comply with the legal requirements German industry and commerce have developed a disposal concept known as "The Green Dot" to encourage, among other things, sparing use of uniform packaging materials for products to be packaged. Fees are charged for disposal that depend on the size and type of package. The crucial aspects are that the merchandise be packaged in a material-saving way and the package not consist of compound materials, i.e. of interconnected heterogeneous materials that cannot be reused together, or of materials that are difficult to reuse.
Furthermore the extensive use of packaging materials and in particular plastics has fallen into disrepute not only due to the legal requirement of reuse but also due to consumers' increasing environment-consciousness, so that a tendency can be ascertained to use material-saving packages based on paper and cardboard.
A special problem is posed by the packaging of elongate objects, for example long field lamps, that require a relatively material-consuming package in relation to their volume, also with respect to the stabilization of the merchandise in the package. If the package envelops the merchandise altogether, considerable amounts of material are required. If the package envelops only part of the merchandise it is problematic to protect the merchandise from damage and to fix it in the package.